At last, the Olympia Kwanzans!

 

4/16/26 Washington State Legislative Building, Olympia

After all the nearly-white Yoshino cherry blossoms have left the party, the showy Kwanzans arrive fashionably late. Although I try to chase the ones I find in my neighborhood each year, I don’t know of any Seattle street with more than a few standing together. The best street of Kwanzans is in Olympia – aptly named Cherry Lane Southwest adjacent to the State Legislative Building – and I had been wanting to sketch them for several years. With the longish drive and rain to contend with, it’s been challenging to find the right time. The weather and my schedule finally aligned last Thursday, so I called an ad hoc joint outing between USk Seattle and the South Sound Sketchers.

Although partly sunny, the morning temps were only in the high 30s in Olympia. I had to put on my full-length down coat and gloves again! The drive and cold were both worth it, though, when we all saw that block of bright pink blossoms. The composition to look for was obvious: The Capitol building framed by cherry branches (top of post). Having just sketched the domed Jefferson Memorial a couple of weeks ago at the DC tidal basin, it was especially fun to sketch the state capitol in a similar composition.

Next I found the Temple of Justice Building behind another cluster of Kwanzans (and a couple taking a selfie stepped into the composition just as I was finishing up).

Temple of Justice Building on Cherry Lane SW

During the initial meetup at the Winged Victory Monument, I had time to make a quick sketch of the bronze sculpture honoring those who served in the First World War. Then right before the throwdown, I made another quick sketch of a cherry.

Winged Victory Monument

For lunch several of us went to Mi Luna Cuban Café near the Capitol. I was starving, so I didn’t spend more than a couple minutes sketching my roasted veggie bowl with maduros plantains (misspelled in my sketchbook). That was one of the most delicious meals I’ve had in a long time!

4/16/26 Tivoli Fountain and Mi Luna Cuban Cafe

Also shown on the page above is a tiny sketch of the Tivoli Fountain, which I could see in the distance during the throwdown (behind a sculpture that looked like a tiny Washington Monument).

Although it took me a few years to get there, this trip to Olympia was well worth it!

Maple Leaf Park Gazebo

 

4/10/26 Maple Leaf Park playground and gazebo

After I had posted a sketch of Mt. Rainier from Maple Leaf Park, I received a comment on Flickr asking how the gazebo was doing. Gazebo? I walk around Maple Leaf Park several times a week – how could I miss a gazebo? Then I realized that the “gazebo” was in reference to the structure in the lower part of the park where the playground is, where I rarely walk. I also hadn’t thought of it as a gazebo because it’s a very open structure compared to most gazebos (when I think of a gazebo, it’s something I duck into for shelter in case of unexpected rain). When I did a little googling to learn more about the gazebo (and found this article), I realized that the person who had commented on Flickr is one of the artists, Nick Lyle.

Gazebo detail

All of that made me realize that I had never sketched the gazebo! The next day, I immediately corrected that. The 10-foot-tall, forged steel structure is very airy with birds, plants and other natural motifs. Now I know why I hadn’t sketched it before – it’s very challenging to make the delicate, arching “branches” show up in front of all the deep foliage behind it.

I stood inside the completely open gazebo (no rain shelter here!), which is “evocative of the web of life that connects both the urban and natural worlds,” to sketch a cormorant detail. As often happens, I discovered that I hadn’t appreciated or even noticed those details until I sketched them.

Return of the Warm/Cool Pairing

 

4/7/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood (facing south)

Years ago I made a series of urban sketches using a bicolor vermillion/blue pencil. Working with just two high-contrast hues, a warm and a cool, helped me to see and develop values more clearly. (I became so intrigued by this method that I even started thinking about developing an urban sketching workshop on the topic – and then 2020 happened.) Using a bicolor pencil also appealed to the pencil geek in me (and it turns out that the traditional Japanese Prussian Blue/Vermillion pencil has an interesting history).

Although it’s not as geeky-cool as a bicolor, I’ve lately been taking two Derwent Drawing pencils in my daily-carry using the same warm/cool principle. All the monochrome (or nearly monochrome) sketches I made as a doomscrolling prevention tactic led to a huge ulterior benefit far beyond avoiding doomscrolling: I started feeling more confident that I could make sketches like these easily while standing, as long as I stayed relatively small.

4/8/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood (facing north) 

For these sketches, which are of the same Maple Leaf intersection facing north and south, I used Terracotta and Delft Blue. Instead of focusing on values, I'm using the two hues to help push the background further from the foreground. I’ll change out the color pairings regularly, which will be fun to explore.

Sketchbook notes: It’s already starting to annoy me. Although the pocket-size Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook is a handy size and weight while taking fitness walks, its landscape format is limiting. I saw a squarish composition that I liked better for each of these, but I can’t open up a landscape book to sketch across the gutter to accommodate a square, so I was stuck with this rectangle (and it’s unlikely that I’ll sketch a panorama on fitness walks). Given my current mission to fill sketchbooks, even if they have shortcomings, I’ll probably begrudgingly continue to use it, but not without complaints. (This post contains other mutterings about it.)

Cherry Blossom Pink Flamingo

 

4/9/26 Chilean flamingoes, Woodland Park Zoo

Since I park on that side of the zoo, I like to catch the
Humboldt penguins on my way out.

On yet another gorgeous day (we were treated to eight of them consecutively last week), I went fitness walking through Woodland Park Zoo. Silly me – I forgot that it was still spring break, which gave me déjà vu of my visit to the Smithsonian National Zoo. (I exaggerate; Seattle’s zoo will never be as crowded as DC’s panda exhibit was, although as I was walking out, the attendant told me that she had counted 6,000 visitors so far that day – a combination of spring break and several field trips.)

I usually avoid the Chilean flamingo exhibit because it smells so bad there. However, the cherry blossom pink crayons in my bag compelled me to use them (holding my breath). At least half the large population on exhibit were a pale grayish-brown instead of pink. The keeper who was washing out their feeding tanks informed us that the dull-colored ones were still young. When they matured, they would take on the brilliant pink hues that flamingoes are known for.

Detail showing the "licked" color wash and textured details added with water-soluble pencil. 
I used a Derwent Drawing pencil for shading.

Technical notes: On a whim, I colored the flamingo by using a waterbrush to “lick” the end of a Raspberry Red Caran d’Ache Neocolor II crayon and painting it like watercolor. Then while that was still wet, I used orange and red Museum Aquarelle pencils for some feather details. I don’t know why I don’t use those techniques together more often – I love the look of the smooth wash combined with texture. Now that the crayon holder I MacGyver’d gives me easy access to a “watercolor palette,” I have to remember to take advantage of it more often.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Neocolor II crayons? That’s not new – I’ve loved them for many years. The difference now is that I’m able to use them on location, so my long-time crush has turned into a committed relationship. Although I wrote a thorough review several years ago, I might need to write a fresh love letter sometime soon.

Getting My Teaching Chops Back

 

4/12/26 

4/12/26 Dexter

After being away from teaching for 15 years, I was feeling rusty going into my ArtSpot workshop last Sunday. As soon as I sat down with my enthusiastic students (a full class), though, my confidence returned and anxiety vanished. It was good to be reminded of the pleasure of interacting with creative, motivated students, which I had enjoyed for many years in my previous life.

Drawing pets with a brush pen was the topic of the day. In my supply list and in the email I sent to students several days prior, I reminded them that the single-most important thing they must bring to class was a high-quality reference photo (several to choose from, if possible). Drawing from a tiny phone screen is less than ideal, so I encouraged them to bring a tablet or iPad or, even better, large prints of images. I was relieved that everyone heeded my recommendations.

I gave the students an opportunity to try drawing from an upside-down
reference image, an exercise I learned from Betty Edwards' Drawing on the
Right Side of the Brain. I drew Teddy upside-down along with my students.

In fact, although I had come prepared with my own images to use for demos, some students had such great photos that I used them to demo with (and gave away the results). Each demo was in response to questions that came up. For example, the mom of the grumpy cat (the only cat! Whaaat??! Of course, I have a preference for dogs, at least to draw, but I was certain more would want to draw cats) asked about how to show the catchlight in light-colored eyes and shading on very pale-colored fur. Although I feel strongly about showing the catchlight, in this case, I concurred that it was difficult to do with a brush pen. Instead, I showed her how to subtly shade the fur on one side.

I sketched Roxy from life as she rested in a sling.

My favorite sketch wasn’t a demo at all: It was a live sketch of Roxy (at left), who spent the class time in a sling around the neck of shop staff member Viani. What a sweet, quiet model she turned out to be.

My learning for the day was to figure out how to do future demos that will be easier to see. I’m not sure I know how to demo on a large scale using an easel, but maybe I need to learn.

Overall, I had a blast, and I hope my students found it rewarding, too.

Route 62 (and Spring Green)

4/8/26 Green Lake neighborhood

With Link light rail so convenient, I rarely take Metro anymore, but certain destinations are better reached by bus. I catch route No. 62 from this Green Lake stop. I’ve waited at this stop many, many times, yet I had never noticed the decorative lamp post until I made this sketch. I guess I’m always looking in the opposite direction in anticipation of the bus’s arrival. (How often has that happened to you? It happens to me regularly: I don’t see it until I sketch it.) Just as I was finishing, a 62 bus approached and fit right into my composition.

Color notes: A friend and I enjoy discussing the particular shade of green that trees begin to take on at this time of year. Tiny, tender leaves shimmer with a luminous, nearly neon yellow-green. In this post from a few years ago, I mentioned the various names pencil manufacturers have come up with to describe this fleeting hue.

Given my current obsession with Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons, I picked out Spring Green (470) from the crayon line, a color I have also used in its Museum Aquarelle pencil form during previous springs.

It’s Been a Minute, Georgetown!

 

4/11/26 Georgetown

I knew it had been a while since I’d sketched in Georgetown, but I didn’t think it had been as many as four years. No wonder I felt like a tourist visiting a familiar yet fresh place. A little out of my way, it’s a neighborhood I only seem to get to with USk Seattle, so I’m happy for last Saturday’s outing on the afternoon of Georgetown’s monthly art walk.

Relieved that the day’s earlier rain had drizzled out in time for our outing, I wandered around to get reacquainted with Georgetown’s crusty, historic buildings. Red brick is plentiful, and some facades of long-gone businesses are crumbling, while many other buildings are still in use.

I always like to use the strong horizontal and vertical lines of the freeway as compositional elements. Although I show the scale poorly in my sketch, the iconic brick smokestack that used to be part of the original Rainier Brewing Company was a popular sketch subject that day (above).

Chilled from standing around in low-50s temps, I went inside All City Coffee to warm up with a mocha. Large windows gave several sketchers good views of the ant-covered mural across the street and Georgetown’s quintessential street lamps. I also got a chance to see Eleanor Doughty’s artwork, which is on view now at All City Coffee.

Views through All City Coffee's windows

After the throwdown, Eleanor gave an inspiring mixed-media demo for anyone who wanted to stay and watch (nearly everyone). I watched most of it, then stepped around to the front so I could sketch her in action.

Ellie giving a demo